And I Thought the Government Used a Lot of Acronyms

Got a call towards the end of last week from the office of the Dr who will be doing my Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS), and, if needed the Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) for biopsy.  It's scheduled for July 16th but they didn't have a time yet and it would be included when they mail me instructions and some forms to fill out. Oh great. More Forms. A large packet was in my post office box when I picked up mail on Sunday. Procedure is scheduled for 12pm which is good news (for my driver anyway) so no early morning wakeup calls.

I suppose this information from Dr's office website is intended to be comforting.  My anxiety level is still high so let's hope the sedative makes me really relaxed and extremely drowsy!

During the Procedure

During the procedure, everything will be done to help you be as comfortable as possible. Your blood pressure, pulse and blood oxygen level will be carefully monitored. Your gastroenterologist will give you a sedative to help make you relaxed and drowsy.

A supportive mouthpiece will be placed to help you keep your mouth open during the endoscopy. Once you are fully prepared, your gastroenterologist will gently maneuver the endoscope into position.

Your gastroenterologist will use the endoscope to look closely for any problems that may require evaluation, diagnosis or treatment.

In some cases, it may be necessary to take a sample of tissue, called a biopsy, for later examination under the microscope. This, too, is a painless procedure. 

note:  all comments are moderated and will not show up immediately.